The Junior SHIELD Academy
by JoMiSm
Summary: The long-awaited sequel to The Itsy-Bitsy Spider! We now get to see Annie's journey through slowly regaining a small sense of normalcy, making friends, possibly enemies, and overcoming her past.
1. Chapter 1

_**The first book started out with me saying that I'd thought of the idea during testing... this year, during my Math end of course, I thought of the idea for this. Of all the ironies... :D**_

_**Disclaimer: Annie is mine. Elena Hill is mine (and also kind of Elekat's). Everyone else is Marvel's. **_

* * *

Annie was, eventually, led to her dorm room after being dropped off by the reluctant Natasha. "...and this is your room." the guide said. "You can go in when you're ready." The lady walked away without another word.

Annie looked at the grey door in front of her. It looked perfectly ordinary (to her eyes, of course; it was capable of withstanding a bomb.), but it was the single most intimidating thing she'd ever seen. Behind that door was the person with whom she would spend most of her time for Lord-knows-how-long. This could make her or break her, all depending upon whether or not she got off on the wrong foot. This could-Annie's hand was hovering over the doorknob, but it wasn't her that opened it. Annie looked up.

"So," an unknown girl said, standing on the other side of the door. "Are you going to actually come in, or just stand there all day...?"

Annie silently stepped through the door, sitting down her bags. It was a nice little room, for what Annie could see of it. Two twin beds were there, the other girl's covered in a white bedspread, doodled upon artistically with a rainbow of Sharpies until you almost couldn't tell it was originally white. Annie's was covered in a plain white bedspread, which, Annie supposed, must have been what the girl's looked like before the artsy-fartsy-ness happened. The girl also had several posters plastering the wall and a big, fluffy rug beside her bed. Annie's side seemed almost theatrically bare compared to the girl's.

Speaking of the girl, she flopped down onto her bed and stared at the ceiling, asking Annie a question. "So, what's your name, roomie?"

"Annie," Annie said. "Annie Smith."

"Cool. I'm Elena Hill." The girl, Elena, said. Her black hair (natural, Annie noted; colored black hair was easy to spot) was in a cute pixie cut and her eyes were brown; the last name as well as her facial features were familiar...

"Hill? As in..." Annie didn't have to hint, as Elena was willing to answer, and it didn't surprise Elena that her roommate's first words were of her lineage.

"Yes, as in Maria. She's my aunt. She's got legal guardianship after my mom died, sent me here for my safety, blah, blah - so, what about you?" Elena asked.

"What do you mean?" Annie asked innocently. Oh, please, not that question...

"Why are you here? It's usually because of who your parents are or you have cool talents or some combination of the two." Elena explained, turning onto her side to look at Annie.

Annie paused, thinking about it. "I suppose, both." Annie said.

"Oh, so you're one of _them._" Elena said with mock contempt, giggling when Annie looked over at her.

"What do you mean?"

"There's just a lot of kids who like to act kind of... arrogant, because their parents-slash-legal-guardians are cool or they can like do flips and ninja-like things." Elena explained with a good-natured grin. _So_, Annie noted, _she must not have any special talent._ Annie smiled back at Elena. _Good for her. Maybe she can live a relatively normal life. _

"Well, I can promise you, I won't be arrogant." Annie said.

"Good." Elena said. Annie noticed an internal debate going on before Elena spoke again; she'd thought it would be rude to ask, but she was curious. "So, who's got legal guardianship over you?" Annie hesitated and Elena hastily added: "You don't have to tell me, though..."

"No, no, it's fine," Annie lied. She didn't really want to start off this way, associating herself with killing and violence and murders. "I have two, technically; they both signed for me: Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton."

Utter.

Silence.

When Annie finally got the courage to look over at her hopefully-new-friend, she cringed at the look of shock on her face.

"I'm sorry," Annie started, but Elena did not let her finish.

"Strike Team Delta took you in?" she interrupted, still looking utterly shocked.

"Um... yes?" Annie said, not quite getting why Elena was shocked. If Maria Hill was her aunt, why was she so shocked at a couple of black ops specialists?

"Dude... you don't even realize... Do you know how much of a legend Romanoff is?" Elena asked, flabbergasted.

"Well, I have some idea, yes-"

Elena interrupted her again, throwing her arms up. "And I thought _I _had it bad; I can't imagine all of the questions _you'll _be asked!"

Annie sighed, gently pushing a stray golden curl behind her ear and looking over at Elena. "That's really encouraging news."

Elena laughed as though Annie'd just made a joke (she wasn't joking...) and looked at Annie. "Don't worry, I'll fend them off. What're friends for, right?"

Friends? Already?

_I hope, _Annie thought, _that the rest of my time at the Academy will go as smoothly as this. _

* * *

_**Oh! Wow! Look! I finished it! The first chapter! I'm proud. :D **_

_**So, what did you think? What about Elena Hill? We're going to learn a lot more about her later. She's cooler than she lets on. **_

_**Review? Please? :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Welcome back! A stray reviewer (cough cough) reminded me that I had people waiting on an update for this! :D **_

* * *

Annie didn't sleep well that night. It was the same horrible SHIELD bed she was used to, and a slight upgrade of the covers she was used to, but it was completely different from her old room. She'd been in Natasha Romanoff's apartment, for one, which makes anyone (on her good side) feel safer... but she'd also had her own room. Privacy. The ability to cry herself to sleep at night if she wanted. Now, even in the 'comfort' of her room, Annie had to keep on her mask and her emotions under control. It was stressful.

That, and the fact that Elena could just be lulling her into a false sense of security before stabbing her to death.

That thought immediately made her think of the last time she'd shared a room with anyone her age: back at The Red Room.

_She was shoved into the tiny room with two twin beds crammed side-by-side on her very first day. 'Day,' however, is stretching it; it was technically daytime, but everyone was still asleep. It was only 2 A.M. when they made it back. _

_As little Anastasia stumbled into the room, she could take in only one fact: the girl in the bed beside hers had a knife. It was utterly terrifying. Her entire situation was the _definition_ of terrifying. Her house had been on fire earlier this very night, and now she was here, in this strange place with no one she knew and her older brother was nowhere to be found. _

_Anastasia was sobbing uncontrollably when she sat down on her little covers, only made worse when the older girl beside her moved. "Please don't hurt me!" Anastasia gasped out between sobs in Russian. _

_"I won't hurt you," the girl said in the same tongue, "unless you don't stop crying." _

_Anastasia tried, but she couldn't. "Where is my family? I want my papa!" She'd never said those words before, but she now missed the familiar home that she'd hardly ever left. _

_"Dead." said the girl beside her without any emotion. _

_Anastasia's eyes widened, bursting into a fresh round of tears. The girl's eyes softened. "What is your name?" _

_"Anastasia, Anastasia Ivanova." _

_"Well, Ana," the older girl said, "My name is Alisa. I will try to help you, but you must not cry. The people who brought you here will hurt you if you cry." Anastasia tried again to stop crying, and she managed to quell the tears a little bit. Alisa moved over to Anastasia's bed and put her arm around her shoulders. "It will be okay. Soon you will not be sad." _

_Anastasia only faintly heard the girl's next words, but she didn't understand them until later: "You will not _remember_ anything to be sad about."_

Annie didn't know she was dreaming until she was awoken by a hand shaking her shoulder. "Wake up!"

"Alisa?" Annie murmured, half asleep. "Chto proiskhodit?"

"You speak Russian?" was the confused reply. Annie sat up, startled when she saw Elena there rather than Alisa. It did make more sense for it to be Elena; Alisa hadn't passed one of the tests. Annie hadn't seen her in two years.

"Yes." Annie said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "Are we late?"

"Not late, per say, but if you want any of the good food in the cafeteria, we'd better hurry up."

It took Annie absolutely no time at all to be ready. Elena took a little longer, but she was ready soon too.

"So who's Alisa?" Elena asked when they were on their way to the cafeteria.

Annie hesitated, trying to think of what to say that wasn't a _lie _but didn't make her have to explain the Red Room to Elena so soon. "Um... an old roommate of mine."

Elena nodded. "Cool. Like, at a camp or something?"

They rounded the corner to the cafeteria at that moment. "Not exactly." Annie responded, saved the trouble of a true answer by going to get in line. Elena made a mental note to ask about it later-and then promptly forgot all about the issue.

* * *

Annie's first class.

The only "classes" that Annie'd experienced in the past were nothing like normal ones. Most schools don't have a 'stealth and seduction' class, or 'weaponry' instead of PE. So now, sitting in an average ninth grade Algebra class, she was very weirded-out by the mundanity of it all.

Yes, there was a drive to succeed here (If you get all A's, you get more points ((the equivalent of money at the Academy)) for the SHIELD store, which has a lot of cool things in it), but it was nothing like the Room. In the Room, it was your life on the line. At the Academy, your new gadget is at risk. In comparison, the competition between people for points was FIERCE.

"Yeah," Elena whispered, pretending to be writing notes. "Points are like money here."

"But can't you just turn real money into points?" Annie asked.

"Well, yes," Elena said, "but... well, it's like admitting defeat. You know someone's failing _really badly _if they have to put real money on their account."

So the school was competitive. Annie could understand that. A goal always focused her, anyway.

Annie thought she'd like it here.

* * *

Annie, though she hated to think it, was pretty sure that Elena was living up to her expectations as mediocre. It sounds like an insult, but it's a good thing to be; the least dangerous thing to be.

She thought that until they came to computer class.

Computer Education at this school was not like other schools. It didn't have you sit through repetitive typing lessons or anything like that; you learned _real _computer skills. How they worked. What codes were in them. How to hack.

That last bit, how to hack? That's the main lesson in there. It's an important skill.

However, it was kind of _assumed _by the teachers and most students that the SHIELD database was secure and impossible to hack. That is why it was so surprising when Elena effortlessly did so in little to no time at all without drawing any attention to herself.

"_What _are you _doing?!" _Annie hissed at her.

Elena jumped in surprise, having forgotten that she had someone beside her who was apparently very observant.

"I was just looking at what the new releases will be to the SHIELD store next month." Elena said, shutting out of the program quickly.

"But that's a secure file."

Elena nodded, like _and...? _

"You can hack SHIELD's files?"

Another nod, this time sheepish. "Don't tell anyone." Elena said. "I don't want to be asked for favors, or-" Here, she nearly read Annie's mind. "-targeted for my talent."

It was Annie's turn to hastily nod in response. Of course she wouldn't say anything about Elena! She didn't want to put her friend in danger or on the school's bad list.

So much for Elena being mediocre.

* * *

_**So what did you think? **_

_**Also, should I do a little separate story about Elena Hill's past? If I did, would you read it? **_

**_Love, JoMiSm_**

**_P.S. It is late as all get out. I was going to bed, but I was like "I'm going to band camp tomorrow and I'll be away until Saturday. My lovely reviewers deserve this update. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER AND WRITE THIS CHAPTER, YOU LAZY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!" So I like totally wrote the last couple hundred words at some impossibly late time because, even though I should be in bed, I'M REALLY EXCITED AND HYPER FOR TOMORROW WHEN I GO AWAY TO BAND CAMP, THE CAMP OF THE NERDSSSSS! I plan to wear two Marvel shirts and a homemade "Official Marvel Fangirl" pin. GO. ME. WINNING AT LIFE._**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey! **_

_**Rushman2.0: Even my grocery lists? (That TFIOS reference thoooooo) You're welcome for writing that before Band Camp. It made me feel good to get that review in the middle of my exhausting week. BY THE WAY, I MADE A SHIELD BADGE/PIN! It's awesome. I'm a SHIELD agent. Be jealous. Be very jealous. (By the way, I knew you'd love the school. I specifically thought "Hmm... I bet Rush would LOVE this school." when I was writing it.) **_

_**Elekat: I did have fun! Time for the update! :D **_

_**Phillipa Gordon: Thank you very much! **_

_** : :D Here you go**_

* * *

They were hardly back to their room before Annie started asking questions.

As soon as the door was closed: "How were you able to hack SHIELD without them catching you?!"

Elena sighed. "Annie... I don't..."

"No! You're not going to just _not answer _that question! Hacking SHIELD is next to impossible, and hacking SHIELD and _not getting caught..." _This was important information. Actually, Annie was a little bit afraid of that answer. What if Elena _wasn't _the good guy? This was a skill that could be used for evil very easily.

"Well then you have to tell me where you met your roommate." Elena responded.

There was a tense silence between the two before Annie said "The Red Room. Now tell me!"

Elena's eyes widened. "That's not funny, Annie! That was a horrible place that Agent Romanoff went through!"

"You think I don't know that? I went through it for fourteen years - wait, how do you know about Natasha's past?" No one was ever told about her past. The blush creeping up Elena's face told Annie everything she needed to know - she had hacked the file. "How could you do that to her?!"

"I-I didn't mean... I didn't know that it would be like that... I didn't mean any harm, h-honest, I just looked her up a few years ago." Elena stuttered.

Annie was silent and Elena worried that she'd already lost her new friend. "Annie, I'm sorry..."

"How did you do it?" The ever persistent question was less demanding this time, softer.

"I'm a genius." Elena said frankly.

"Wow, modest, aren't you?" Annie said, but her words were punctuated with a half-smile.

"No, really. By all definitions of the word, I'm a genius. I've always been good at math, and once I got to computers, everything just... _clicked. _I don't really think about it, I just do it." Elena said. Her words came out in a rush, and she felt a very big conflict. "But, Annie... you can't tell anyone. You'll put me in danger. I mean, there are people who will hunt me down if they get word of me... I don't really exist to the world."

"Well, I have people _currently _hunting me down. I'd never put anyone into that position." Annie said. There was a mutual moment of 'wow, our life sucks.' between them, but also a moment of respect passing between the two.

It was a very odd mixture, the fear that someone will tell your secret and the relief that someone knows.

* * *

"So... you were really in the Red Room?" Elena asked, only later when the lights were off and they were in bed.

Annie's heart skipped a beat at the sudden question and mention of her least favorite place in the universe. "Yes." she answered quietly.

"And that's why you can speak Russian?"

"And just about any other language you can name." Annie said. It would take too long to list them all.

"Wow, now who's being modest?" The girls laughed, if only because this was a depressing topic and it needed _something _to lighten it up. "Annie... in Agent Romanoff's file, it wasn't very detailed, but the stuff it did tell... Are you okay?"

It was a grossly oversimplified question, usually applied to someone who'd just fallen from their bike, not someone who came from a torturous and evil childhood. As it was an oversimplified question, Annie gave an oversimplified answer: "No."

Elena's next question was gentle. "Will you _ever_ be okay?"

Annie was silent. She had absolutely no clue.

* * *

The next morning, the girls kind of ignored the conversation of the night before as they did their hair. Annie's hair was, as mentioned previously, very short, chin length at the longest point and with sideswept bangs. She had to go through the teasing and etc., but it was otherwise pretty easy. Elena's was pretty similar but with the familial dark hair and slightly longer than Annie's.

They were both trying to use the mirror at the same time when Annie's SHIELD-issued cell phone rang. She turned it on speaker phone.

"Hey, Natasha, you're on speakerphone." Annie warned her before continuing with what she was doing.

"Who else is in the room?" Came the clear reply. SHIELD phones were a huge upgrade from normal phones; it was probably because they could be used to pretend someone was in the room when they were really on speakerphone. (It's a good scare tactic on a mission, you know: 'We have the Black Widow with us!' 'No, you don't.' And Natasha says through the phone 'Yes, they do.' and the hostages are released pretty quickly.)

"Elena Hill." Annie said.

"Hiiiiiiiiii," Elena called.

There was silence from Natasha's end other than the sounds of a door opening and closing before she spoke again, this time in a quiet voice. She was hiding from other people before mentioning Agent Hill's niece. "Elena?"

"...um, yes?" Elena said, puzzled.

"Oh, my God, Maria hasn't said but one sentence about you for ten years, and she never mentioned your name... I had no clue that you were at the Academy! It's been so long!"

Elena looked at Annie like _is this chick crazy? _"Um... have I met you before?"

Surprisingly, Natasha laughed. "I forgot that you didn't know who I was. You remember your babysitter from a long time ago? Jennifer, blonde hair, ponytail? That was me. I was assigned to protect you..." There was a pause and Natasha's voice hitched. "and your mother." You could plainly tell that Natasha hadn't forgiven herself for the failure of that mission.

"That was _you?! _You were there that night?!" _  
_

Annie looked between the phone and Elena, who was now nearly in tears over some memory that Annie did not share.

"I was. And I'm sorry."

* * *

_**DARN IT. That was a short chapter, but I had to tell you the part where Elena was a genius before I posted the new story!**_

_**!ATTENTION! If you want to know about Elena Hill's past, go read the story that I am posting RIGHT NOW: Not So Mediocre After All. It's about Elena's childhood, how she came to be in Maria Hill's care, and feel-crushing moments! Enjoy. **_

_**-JoMiSm**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**DoomedGirl: Thank you!**_

_**Killian Rainey: This next!**_

_**Rushman2.0: RUSHIE You are totally allowed to ramble in reviews. It's fun to read. I love Elena too! (Both the OC and her namesake ((cough Elekat cough))) And, yes, they can relate in the fact that they're both so unrelatable that they can relate to each other. That made more sense in my head. I was at band camp four days, went home on the fifth. It was awesome. I was first band, sixth chair this year. GOIN UP THE RANKS, BABY**_

_**Phillipa Gordon: Yes, great friendship, indeed. **_

_**Elekat: Teeheehee thanks**_

**_ATTENTION EVERYONE! THIS IS WRITTEN ESPECIALLY FOR ELEKAT'S BIRTHDAY, AND I POSTED THIS AT EXACTLY MIDNIGHT! I CHURNED OUT 600 WORDS IN UNDER ONE HOUR! LOVE YOU ELENA!_**

* * *

Have you ever heard the song 'Let it Go' from Frozen? Of course you have, you're a human being who I assume is not deaf or living under a rock. Well, that one line, _Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know... _that pretty well describes the day that Elena Hill and Annie Smith went through. Annie, who usually had to be pretty Elsa-like with her emotions, was dealing with memories that she hated throughout the day thanks to that late-night discussion. Elena had to try to learn while repressing that childhood trauma that'd been so _helpfully _brought up earlier that morning.

It was not a fun day.

Annie was dying to know what happened to Elena's mother, her backstory, but she couldn't ask. Even if they got a private moment, she wouldn't force Elena to tell her of her past like Elena'd forced Annie. That was something that no one wants to go through, reliving the past, and Annie wouldn't push it on her.

Although, I say 'if they got a private moment'... They didn't have a chance. It was gym day at the Junior SHIELD Academy, and, as you probably guessed, it wasn't done like other schools. It was different every time, but they tended to stick to one thing: competitions. These kids were some of the most competitive in the world and, if given proper motivation, could accomplish feats previously thought to be impossible for the human race to achieve.

This time: obstacle course. Every individual was timed. Everyone who completed the course in under one minute got thirty credits at the school's store, which was the equivalent of a little over thirty dollars. Third place got twenty more, second got forty more, and first place got seventy more, adding up to fifty, seventy, and one hundred credits, respectively. It was a very good prize, but again, these were some insanely competitive people. You couldn't just put in a tiny bit more effort and win.

The course itself was sprawling over almost the entire gym, including places where you had to crawl, jump, duck, dodge, and even (only at SHIELD, folks) defeat one of the trainers before climbing a rope and ringing a bell. There was a myriad of different challenging obstacles.

Most of the kids were having one of two reactions. They were either looking grimly determined and making bets with their friends, or quietly looking, wide-eyed, at the course, their thoughts plain on their face: _How do I survive this? _

Annie was sticking to neither of these. As she glanced over the course, all that she could think was _child's play. _Those foam barriers that you had to crawl under? Those were metal at the Room, and if you weren't fast enough they fell. Those tires you had to jump through? Those were rubber pads in the middle of a shock-field; if you misstepped by an inch, you were fried. That rope? It was slicked down and, to make matters worse, water was pouring down on you. That trainer who was battling you? They weren't on easy mode like the SHIELDies. They were told that they could use lethal force.

However, those girls who would've gotten killed on the obstacle course? They were already dead before that point in training.

Yes, Annie was confident in her ability to do this course, and even confident in her ability to win, but she wasn't confident in her ability to go through this course without breaking down like she had at the testing at SHIELD, where the women turned on her. SHIELD had obviously been clued in to some of the Room's training methods and watered them down a lot.

Not enough for them not to be a trigger.

She stood in line patiently, allowing everyone who wanted to cut the opportunity to. She was in no hurry to be engulfed in memories for the second time in twenty-four hours. Elena was behind her. Elena was one of the second types: she was _brilliant _with computers, but that skill wouldn't help her here. She wasn't the most uncoordinated, but she wasn't the most coordinated, either. She was afraid of falling on her face in front of a large portion of her peers. She shifted from one foot to the other uneasily behind Annie, but Annie stood stock-still.

When Annie stepped up to the start, the minimum time to rank was 0:59:01 and the time to beat was 0:43:05.

Three.

Two.

One.

She was immediately thrown into a flashback from even the starter pistol. Gunfire, oh so familiar to her. She dove immediately, under the foam barriers in no time flat and sprinting like her life depended on it.

Even those who wanted those credits with all of their hearts couldn't put such effort into their tries. The reason was simple: they were playing for some credits. She was playing for her life.

Running through the swinging mats.

_Blades that had taken so many companions whizzed as Anastasia panted and dodged, her grunts of effort the only sound in the dead-silent room._

Getting through the faux-lasers, made of yarn (the more you knocked down, the more time was added).

_Flipping and cartwheeling where others had gingerly stepped and ducked, Anastasia made it through with decidedly less long blonde hair, but her life in-tact. _

Defeating the trainer, where most of the Junior SHIELDies had gingerly tried not to hurt the man between them and the goal, only to get a "fatal" shot.

_Anastasia viciously went for the head, the back of the knees, the stomach, the groin, anything to incapacitate the man. One roundhouse kick to the head took them down. She did not have the ability to use fatal force. _

The rope.

_She scrambled up the ladder, going on pure heart because there sure wasn't any other way you could make it up the super slippery rope, and failure wasn't an option._

She rang the bell.

_She rang the bell._

The cheers of her fellow SHIELDies or the screams of those who had failed the course, Annie didn't know which was real. She only knew that she was safe, she was safe while so many others had died and it wasn't fair it wasn't fair it wasn't _fair_

But look they were congratulating her so it had to be good, right, it had to be good that she'd ignored her friend's pleas to go a little slower or she'd be knocked out of the rankings.

It had to be good that she's survived in a world of killers or those who were killed.

It had to be good that her _ability_ to survive was the product of evil, pure evil.

But no one noticed that anything was wrong, writing off her trembling as adrenaline, patting her on the back, and all she could think was

_I don't want to win_

_I don't want to kill them _

_I don't want to win _

and no one knew

no one told her

that this was SHIELD

not the Red Room

and she was stuck there in her mind

her torturous memories

until Elena found her later

and she hugged her

and she knew, she saw through it

and Annie was okay

as okay

as you can be

if you are Annie Smith

killer

liar

survivor.

* * *

_**WOO I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT**_

_**Yeah, that spacing that I do when Annie gets pulled into memories is a lot like Clint's in WHIB, but that's how I write mental breakdowns is in jerks that you read really spaced out and it just adds to the effect. Do you like that weird thing that I do?**_

_**I LOVE YOU ELENA HAPPY BIRTHDAY WE GOT THIS**_

_**-JoMiSm**_


End file.
